IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchSigner son arrêt de mort
Meaning: To take an action that guarantees your own downfall.
Literally: To sign one's own death warrant
Example: “En insultant le patron devant tout le monde, il a signé son arrêt de mort.” — By insulting the boss in front of everyone, he signed his own death warrant.
English equivalent: To sign one's own death warrant
Equivalents in other languages
English: sign one's own death warrant
Origin: An arrêt is a court's binding ruling, and a death sentence required a signature to take effect. The figure is of the condemned supplying that signature themselves — the ruin is self-authored.
More French idioms
- L'avocat du diable Someone who argues a position they do not hold in order to test it.
- Dans tous les azimuts In every direction at once; scattered and unfocused.
- Une tour de Babel A place of hopeless confusion, especially one where nobody speaks the same language.
- Plier bagage To pack up and clear off, usually in a hurry.
- Ça fait un bail It has been ages.
- Un baiser de Judas A show of affection that conceals a betrayal.
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